Saturday, January 10, 2009

Savory Swirl

When the Bread Baking Babes made Yule Wreath breads, there were both sweet and savory versions on their blogs. The one that really caught my eye was the savory version found at Tanna's blog, My Kitchen In Half Cups. Although many elements in the filling sounds delish, she had me at Spinach. The idea of a bread wreath with a spinach stuffing just had instant appeal. Then you throw in some Italian sausage, some onions (in my version) and herbs in the bread dough, plus a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the crust and you are in heaven. Thank you Tanna!

I used the recipe for the Yule Wreath found on her blog, used my plain sourdough starter instead of yeast, and used whole wheat flour plus an additional half cup of all purpose flour.

Since the Yuletide is long past, I decided to skip the wreath and shape the rolled up, stuffed dough into a big letter C. For a pretty simple dough and easy to do filling, this looks really impressive once you cut the slashes with scissors and turn the pieces out to show off the filling.

It is even more amazing when you take it out of the oven, all golden brown and smelling like the best Italian food you can imagine. The best part is eating it! Warm bread, savory sausage, tangy spinach, sweet onions, and just a hint of herbs and Parmesan. It will be gone before you know it!

for about a minute then top with4 hands full spinachstir until wilted(I used chopped spinach)

allow to cool

4- Punch down the dough. Roll into rectangle, 15 x 9-inches, on a lightly floured surface. Spread with the filling to within 1/4-inch of the edges. Roll up tightly, beginning at the wide side. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal well. Stretch roll to make even. With sealed edge down, shape into ring on lightly greased cookie sheet.Pinch ends together. (I shaped it into a letter C shape)

5- With scissors or kitchen shears, make cuts 2/3 of the way through the ring at 1-inch intervals. Turn each section on it's side (90 degree turn), to show off the pretty swirled filling. Cover loosely with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise until double, about 40 to 50 minutes.

6- Heat oven to 350 deg. F. Right before putting into the oven, brush crust with a little milk and sprinkle on about 1 tablespoon grated Parmesans cheese. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. (If it browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil.)

You can find this at Yeastspotting at Susan's blog Wild Yeast...around Dec. '10!

So slow these days I am.I think we need to find another name for this one, a name that is a better reflection of the versatility of this dough and even it's shaping!I had you at spinach did I. I buy the biggest Sam's container of spinach and then am always looking for new ways to use it. This was ideal.So glad you enjoyed this one!

Click Image to Buy Book

WELCOME

So glad you are visiting my blog.

I love comments and if there are questions as part of your comment, I try to answer them in a few days. Just click on COMMENTS at the bottom of the post.

All of the content is my own, unless mentioned otherwise. I don't mind sharing, but please ask before you use any of the photos or content for any reason, or before you link to this or add this blog to any roundup (unless I've submitted it to you) and collection or in any way place content elsewhere. My email to contact is:plachman 'at'sonic'dot'net. Thanks! Happy blogging!!